Astra: that didn’t go quite right…

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Aug 292021
 

This had a very “Early Atlas Test Flight Anomaly” feel to it.

This launch went wrong right form the get-go… but it did a *magnificent* job of recovering. It just wasn’t magnificent enough; seems it never did have enough thrust due to one of the five engines failing right after liftoff. Went terminally goofy at Max-Q, apparently on a command to terminate the flight due to being outside of its launch corridor.

This is the third flight for the Astra in a year… and the third failure. SpaceX also failed a lot, as did the Ranger lunar missions. if the funds and the will are there, they can fix the problems and make a success of it. *If.*

 Posted by at 2:15 am

At least they’re free to party

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Aug 232021
 

For a brief, terrifying moment it appeared that our betters in the leadership class thought they might have to curtail their nonstop partying. Huzzah! Them days of darkness and despair are over! Now that Afghanistan failed and thousands of Americans are effectively hostages to the Taliban, the “party like it’s 1999 and there’s no such thing as a pandemic” days are back!

 

 Posted by at 7:00 pm

Australia: WTF

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Aug 222021
 

Rescue dogs shot dead by NSW council due to COVID-19 restrictions

Several impounded dogs due to be rescued by a shelter have instead been shot dead by a rural council in NSW under its interpretation of COVID-19 restrictions, alarming animal activists and prompting a government probe.

Bourke Shire Council, in the state’s north-west, killed the dogs to prevent volunteers at a Cobar-based animal shelter from travelling to pick up the animals last week, according to council’s watchdog, the Office of Local Government.

 

 Posted by at 6:13 pm

So long, Phrogs

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Aug 192021
 

After decades of service, the Biden administration has abandoned a bunch of fully functional helicopters as quickly as the administration abandoned thousands of American citizens.

The State Department Has Abandoned Its CH-46 Helicopters In Afghanistan

The U.S. State Department has confirmed that seven CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters, also colloquially known as “Phrogs,” belonging to its Air Wing have been rendered inoperable and abandoned in Afghanistan as part of the ongoing evacuation effort. This non-combatant evacuation operation, or NEO, could very well be the last major mission ever for any Sea Knight belonging to the U.S. government, with the State Department already in the process of divesting its entire fleet. 

Well. That’s… something.

Sure, these helicopters were old and were slated for retirement. Their day was almost over. But there are still tens of thousands of American citizens stranded by Biden behind Taliban lines. Americans who could have been picked up by these choppers.  But now they’re junk.

 

 Posted by at 11:50 pm
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